About Me

Jim Killebrew has 40 years of clinical psychological work for people with intellectual disabilities, and experience teaching, administration, consulting, writing with multiple publications. Dr. Killebrew has attended four Universities and received advanced degrees. Southern Illinois University; Ph.D., Educational Psychology; University of Illinois at Springfield, Counseling Education; M.A., Human Development Counseling; Northeastern Oklahoma State University, B.A., Psychology and Sociology. Dr. Killebrew attended Lincoln Christian Seminary (Now Lincoln Christian University). Writing contributions have been accepted and published in several journals: Hospital & Community Psychiatry, The Lookout, and Christian Standard (multiple articles). He may be reached at Killebrewjb@aol.com.

Welcome to my Opinion Pages

Thanks for stopping by and reading some of my thoughts. I hope you will find an enjoyable adventure here on my pages.

The articles are only my opinion and are never meant to hurt anyone nor to downgrade any other person's ideas or opinions.

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Monday, July 2, 2012

Happy Birthday America

America's Revolutionary
War broke out in April 1775.The British
Empire had poked the people living in the thirteen colonies living across the
Atlantic.Great Britain had treated the
colonists as subjects of the King who needed to pay taxes from their sweat and
toil without having anyone to represent their interests.

The battles throughout the
Summer, Fall and Winter of 1775 had been met with some indifference by many of
the colonists who had not yet worked up enough dissent to rebel against the
King.Sentiments were changed, however, by Britain's tyranny and
cruelty, along with the growing number of battles and emotions that were fueled by statements
written in the paper, "Common Sense" by Thomas Payne.

Great Britain's King had
exacted taxes unduly, the King's men were unjustly cruel and the people had
been reading the words of Thomas Payne:

"Government by kings was first introduced into the world
by the Heathens, from whom the children of Israel copied the custom. It was the
most prosperous invention the Devil ever set on foot for the promotion of
idolatry. The Heathens paid divine honors to their deceased kings, and the
Christian world hath improved on the plan by doing the same to their living
ones. How impious is the title of sacred majesty applied to a worm, who in the
midst of his splendor is crumbling into dust!"

"As the exalting one man so greatly above the rest
cannot be justified on the equal rights of nature, so neither can it be
defended on the authority of scripture; for the will of the Almighty, as
declared by Gideon and the prophet Samuel, expressly disapproves of government
by kings. All anti-monarchial parts of scripture have been very smoothly
glossed over in monarchial governments, but they undoubtedly merit the
attention of countries which have their governments yet to form. Render unto
Caesar the things which are Caesar's is the scriptural doctrine of courts, yet
it is no support of monarchial government, for the Jews at that time were
without a king, and in a state of vassalage to the Romans."

"Near three thousand years passed away from the Mosaic
account of the creation, till the Jews under a national delusion requested a
king. Till then their form of government (except in extraordinary cases, where
the Almighty interposed) was a kind of republic administered by a judge and the
elders of the tribes. Kings they had none, and it was held sinful to
acknowledge any being under that title but the Lords of Hosts. And when a man
seriously reflects on the idolatrous homage which is paid to the persons of
kings he need not wonder, that the Almighty, ever jealous of his honor, should
disapprove of a form of government which so impiously invades the prerogative
of heaven."

"Monarchy is ranked
in scripture as one of the sins of the Jews, for which a curse in reserve is
denounced against them. The history of that transaction is worth attending to."

So, according to Payne, continuing with
submission to the King of Great Britain was the same as participating in the
sin the Israelites of old had perpetuated from "heathen"
nations.The only answer was to sever
ties and declare independence.

With the motivation from
the "Common Sense" and the white-hot words of Thomas Payne ringing in
their ears the Continental Congress met at what is now the Independence Hall in
Philadelphia, the city of "Brotherly Love."Virginia's delegate Richard Henry Lee called
for the colonies to demand independence from Great Britain.Throughout June the debate raged in the
Congress no doubt recalling some of the battles and the unfairness of the
taxation imposed by the King.With the
persuasive words of Thomas Payne and others who wished for secession ringing in
their ears, the Continental Congress called upon Thomas Jefferson of Virginia,
John Adams of Massachusetts, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Benjamin Franklin of
Pennsylvania and Robert R. Livingston of New York to write and submit for
consideration a draft statement that would serve as justification for secession
of the colonies from Great Britain.

By July 2, 1776 the smaller committee from the
Continental Congress had presented the Declaration of Independence, written primarily
by Thomas Jefferson over a two day period, to the Continental Congress on July
2nd.The Congress voted for independence
on that day, but on July 4, 1776 the Continental Congress formally adopted the
Declaration of Independence as their singular voice to the Monarch of Great
Britain they would no longer be subjects belonging to him.On this day in our history, July 4, 1776
Americans took a stand against tyranny and injustice.